Today's Saint (December 6): Nicholas, Bishop

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Saint Nicholas, bishop of Myra, was born in the 4th century in Asia Minor. One of the best known legends about Saint Nicholas tells of his having thrown three bags of gold through the window of a home of three girls so that they might have dowries, thereby saving them from a life of prostitution.

In art he is also represented as blessing three children in a wooden tub, which flows from a story that he came across three dismembered children whom he blessed and brought back to life. Numerous other pious stories of miracles and His merciful helping of poor and destitute children have led to his commemoration as "Santa Claus".

May we teach our children that St. Nicholas, a Christian filled with the love of Our Lord, is no doubt the origin of the Santa Claus story, and that it is Jesus Christ who is God's greatest gift to the world.

The Day's Propers
Catholic Encyclopedia article

Books Worth Considering
The Treasury of Saints and Martyrs
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church
Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church
The Oxford Dictionary of Saints (Oxford Paperback Reference)
The Penguin Dictionary of Saints: Third Edition (Dictionary, Penguin)

www.episcopalnet.org